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Frank Castle (Earth-616)
* A film adaptation was directed by Mark Goldblatt (later the film editor of X-Men: The Last Stand) and written by Boaz Yakin. It starred Dolph Lundgren as the Punisher. The film's most recognizable deviation from the comic books is the lack of the character's signature skull logo. * A second film adaptation was directed by Jonathan Hensleigh (who wrote Die Hard: With a Vengeance) and starred Thomas Jane for the lead role with John Travolta as the main villain Howard Saint. This movie adaptation was more faithful to the comic book and was loosely based on the Welcome Back, Frank comic. It was released in the U.S. on April 16, 2004. It was met with mixed reviews by critics and earned $33.8 million at the box office. Lionsgate came with a limited edition (10,000 produced) mini-comic book written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Steve Dillon, chronicling Castle's time in Delta Force in the Gulf War, and later in the FBI. * A third film, entitled Punisher: War Zone was released on December 5, 2008, but had no relation to the 2004 film. It was directed by Lexi Alexander with Ray Stevenson in the Punisher role and Dominic West as the villain Jigsaw. Toys The Punisher appears in the Marvel Legends toy-line in series 4,6 and 8, modeled after his movie appearance, the Urban Legends boxed set, in the Face Off two-pack series in his classic outfit, and a variant similar to Tim Bradstreet's design. * Punisher (toy) Marvel Legends Series 4 * The Punisher (toy) Marvel Legends Urban Legends Gift Pack * Punisher (toy) Marvel Legends Face-Off Series 2 | Notes = *Punisher usually uses rubber "mercy bullets" (non-lethal ammunition) when guest-starring in other comics, most notably Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Captain America in the 70's and 80's. *Used to have a pet rottweiler called "Max" which he saved from animal poachers. *Number plates on The Punisher's black Pontiac has "Year One" on it; reference to The Company that worked on making the 5 GTOs for the movie. *According to Don Daley, then editor of The Punisher Vol 2, #98, in his response to a fan mail, he stated that the Punisher's version of justice is classically based as "an eye for an eye". *In the early 1990s, flagging sales drove Marvel to place the then-popular character The Punisher in several guest appearances in The 'Nam. After the series' conclusion, an epilogue of sorts was published in the form of a Punisher special, The Punisher in the 'Nam: Final Invasion. *As of the mid-2000s, Castle's timeline remained untouched when Marvel adjusted the time frames of other characters. His history has never been altered or moved up; he has effectively aged in real time from the Vietnam War. *In the miniseries Born, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Castle's roots are traced back to Vietnam, during his third tour of duty in Vietnam, where he undergoes a psychological and possibly supernatural transformation into the Punisher in order to survive a massive assault on his fortification by the combined forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. | Trivia = *The Punisher once went after the Runaways when they were hired by the Kingpin to steal a hyperdrive device. This resulted in one of the more embarassing moments in Castle's life, when he was dispatched by a single punch from 12-year-old Molly Hayes. *Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has stated that the second part of his band's hit song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" is about the Punisher. The lyrics themselves only reinforce this feeling: :Wage the war on organized crime :Sneak attacks, repel down the rocks :Behind the lines :Some people risk to employ me :Some people live to destroy me :Either way they die :They die | Links = * Punisher (Fansite) * Punisher Original Art * Marvel.com - Official Site * Force2Reckon - Punisher Fansite * Gangsta Punisher Army - Online Punisher Community * The Gray Zone - Anti-heroes of Marvel Comics * Punisher Origin }} Category:Humans Category:Cyborgs